Lessons Learned on Energy-Efficient Affordable Housing

Renovations of older, distressed homes throughout the city of Cleveland are meeting improved green standards because of incentive programs and funding opportunities that encourage better building. But what will it take for existing homes to achieve more dramatic energy reductions in line with evolving energy codes and standards? Can we achieve deep energy reductions cost-effectively in affordable housing? We wanted to find out.Over the past two years at Environmental Health Watch (EHW), we managed a HUD-funded technical study of green retrofits of 12 affordable homes.Six of the houses were upgraded to EHW’s deep energy retrofit (DER) specs to achieve at...